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5 ways to make the next Alien game even better

Do you enjoy crouching through ambiguously industrial-looking corridors? Does the sight of steam softly seeping out of sphincter-shaped air ducts give you the sexy sweats? Would hiding from a dribbling rubbery man-monster make your heart beat faster?

If you thought ‘yes’ to the above, you will probably enjoy Alien: Isolation.

(Image: Giant Bomb)

That’s right, it’s the survival horror game based on the 1979 cult classic Alien. Over the years many have attempted to distill Ridley Scott’s sci-fi horror film and its sequels into tasty video game form, with almost all of those attempts being terrible (just look at 2013’s Aliens: Colonial Marines). Alien: Isolation recreates the implacable deadliness that makes the titular star beast so terrifying: there’s only one horrible Mr Alien, but there’s no way to kill him off. A thorough blast from a flamethrower is about the only way to avoid a stabtastic death if it finds you, forcing you to sneak around sheepishly, diving into an empty locker or aforementioned air duct if the alien pokes about nearby.

Alien: Isolation has sold over 1 million copies since it released 4 month ago and talk of a sequel is a “daily topic” around the developer's office. While it's certainly jolly good fun (a certain bowel-loosening kind of fun), it’s far from a perfect jaunt into alien town. Here are 5 ideas to make the next trip even better.

1. A more bashful alien

In the whole of the original 70s film the alien’s only on camera for a few minutes. But finding a snug hiding spot and watching it swagger about is a core mechanic in Isolation. The prospect of not knowing exactly what’s after you is much more scary, and to be honest this alien's a bit of an exhibitionist.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent used a clever system: the more you look at the monsters the more mentally unhinged your character becomes, leading to spooky hallucinations and eventual unconsciousness. This prevents you from looking at them too much, keeping their menace mysterious. Perhaps in the next game peeking at the alien could exponentially increase the chance of you pooing yourself in fear (another reason for the robot janitors to be on your case).

Check out those gnashers. This alien has a very good dentist. (Image: YouTube)

2. A better crafting system

This CGI trailer shows what could have been: hunting for bits of kit found around the space station, a sense of satisfaction at invented a new tool to help you survive. It’s a far cry from the actual game, in which you inhale seemingly random pieces of litter like a kleptomanic Henry Hoover. The actual constructing process happens offscreen, depositing a perfectly-made smoke bomb or molotov in your inventory.

I’d love to see something like Dead Space 3’s modular weapon crafting system in a future Alien game. It’s one of the more engaging parts of Dead Space 3; the prospect of finding a shiny new part to stick on the end of my favourite gun kept me playing into the wee hours. A similar approach for crafting Isolation’s gadgets would make you feel like a proper space-age mechanic, just like protagonist Amanda Ripley.

3. Fewer frustrating computer console minigames

I can definitely see what developer Creative Assembly was going for with these short puzzles inspired by the many fuzzy cathode-ray interfaces from the original film, but they crop up far too frequently over the course of the game. It’s often hard to determine exactly what you should do to solve them, and their generic, interchangeable nature takes away from the space station’s impression as a coherent, credible place.

(Image: YouTube)

That’s not to say that giving you fiddly tasks to carry out under pressure isn’t a novel idea. I rather enjoyed cutting open doors with the blowtorch because, crucially, I understood why I was doing it and what it would achieve. Equally, the ‘security access tuner’ has just enough challenge to make it a suddenly intense exercise in controlled panic if an enemy is nearby. There’s a bit of skill involved, so punching in the correct symbols perfectly the first time makes you feel like a total boss.

4. Proper character interaction

It’s always been joked that Alien is a film where nothing happens for the first 45 minutes, but that isn’t quite true: nothing explicitly scary happens, but the film excels in describing the personalities of the space freighter’s crew and their relationships within a tight, hierarchical working environment. It makes the horrors they face later on that much more believable. 

This part of the film doesn’t get translated to game-form at all. While there are lots of parts of Isolation where nothing much happens, the game doesn’t use it as an opportunity to get you familiar with its characters. There’s never much of a chance to talk to people outside of a few pre-rendered cutscenes and over-the-radio chatter, and everything Ripley says to them is already decided for you in non-interactive fashion. Which leads us to...

5. A properly branching story

The Sevastopol space station you’re trapped in is largely an open book, so it seems strange this isn’t already a feature. You’re encouraged to return to areas you’ve already visited, opening up doors with the handy gadgets you’ve since acquired, but the completely linear nature of the story means there isn’t much point in exploring except to track down collectable audio recordings made by the film’s original and now old-person-voiced cast.

Of course the real tension in an Alien story comes from the unlikely team of survivors, arguing amongst each other about the best plan to get rid of the alien and back home safely. Imagine a system in Isolation that let’s you choose your own objectives, convincing other survivors to help you along the way: do you keep the alien trapped while you fix up an escape shuttle or blow up the whole space station, giving your life to ensure no-one finds the alien and shares your fate (it’s the only way to be sure, after all)?

So, that’s my list. Much like the dastardly monster itself, the Alien franchise is almost impossible to kill off. I expect there’ll be many more Alien games to come and hopefully they’ll improve on the stellar example Isolation set. I found the game so jolly interesting I wrote my 3rd year dissertation on it, which you can go and read, if you’re that academically inclined - I’m particularly proud that it’s exactly 5,500 words long.

Words by: Alex Francis

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Why ‘JeSuisCharlie’ is terrible and represents everything wrong with the world.

Alex Francis explores the 'JeSuisCharlie' phenomenon in more detail.

(Image: CNN)

For anyone reading who's been catching some quality under-a-rock time this last week, on Wednesday 7th the headquarters of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo were attacked by two armed men. 12 were killed, the majority of whom were employees of the magazine. The gunmen were Muslim, which explains why hours later my Facebook feed exploded with the phrase ‘JeSuisCharlie’ (‘I Am Charlie’ for anyone lucky enough to avoid GCSE French) shared as a declaration of solidarity with the magazine and the murdered journalists.

It’s at this point I feel the need to preface this article with a reminder that the shootings were still an obviously terrible thing, a senseless act of destruction that achieves nothing but more hardship for the human race. The fact that journalists shouldn’t be killed for being journalists is the definition of a truism, a statement so obvious it’s utterance is entirely redundant.

Charlie Hebdo proclaims itself non-conformist, embodying the French tradition of ‘laïcité’: the separation of church and state. But it’s obsession with Islam since the 9/11 attacks has produced problematic content. Hook-nosed caricatures of Muslims sully its pages, with outrage-baiting articles such as “Will all Belgium’s chips soon be halal?”. One infamous issue claimed the Prophet Muhammad as guest editor - a considerable example of appropriation by a magazine run entirely by non-Muslims. (The cover is not published with this article for the sake of appropriateness, but can be found here).

The title of the magazine is altered to become ‘Sharia Hebdo’, while a caricature of Muhammad, any image of whom many Muslims are uncomfortable viewing, leers mad-eyed out. He proclaims "100 lashes if you don't die of laughter!", reinforcing a stereotype of muslims as violent and brutish. This is racist imagery.

“But” yelled a towering, globular mass of social media voices, “Islam is a religion, not a race. Therefore criticising Islam isn’t racism.” It’s an often repeated argument that ignores the different cultural and historical contexts of drawing obscene images of, say, the Prophet Muhammad vs the Pope. In the West Muslims are a marginalised group. They are demonised, associated with terrorism, crime and poverty. Through the media and government policy Islam is presented as a threat to the liberal values of the West, and there is none more liberal than that of free speech. It’s worth remembering that the concept of ‘race’ is entirely a social construct; science does not recognise the term. What is racism if not the stereotyping of a group though their ethnicity, geography, and culture?

One only needs to look at the cartoons made in response to the attack on Charlie Hebdo. Many reinforce a dominant ‘us vs them’ narrative, depicting Muslims as the other; an inscrutable, foreign menace that is a innate threat to the Western way of life.

(Image: NY Daily News)

The irony is that this alienating effect is exactly what leads to tragedies like the one that rocked the world last week. In the words of a French imam who had known one of the gunmen, “I’m not justifying any attacks but when you look at their past, when you don't have an identity, when you don't belong, you can do something very, very nasty.” The two shooters, brothers, were both French. They were born in Paris, the same city they carried out their poorly reasoned attack 30 years later.

The cartoons produced by Charlie Hebdo illustrate the crucial difference between satire and bullying. As journalist and author Will Self said in a Channel 4 News interview, “You always have to ask with something that purports to be satire, who’s it attacking? Are they people who are in a position of power? … This is not the dynamic with Islamist terrorists. They are not in power in our society.” Attempts at using satire to hurt terrorists invariably succeed only in hurting ordinary Muslims.

Proclaiming “I Am Charlie” will not help mend the wound those French brothers opened last week, but deepen it. Free speech does not give people the right to laugh at those who are already ostracised by society. Multiculturalism means being considerate and tactful, not ruthlessly applying the values of the West to the rest of the world. That is imperialism. “I am not offended by this, therefore the rest of the world shouldn’t be either.”

The ones that are deserving of satire are the actual rulers of our society. The ones so quick to jump on an international bandwagon that only the internet can provide, feigning outrage in the name of free speech while curtailing more of our rights under the guise of preventing terrorism. Already Prime Minister David Cameron has announced - in a headline worthy of the timeless #notTheOnion hashtag - formerly innocent services such as Snapchat may be banned in the UK because they allow citizens to communicate with each other in a way the government can’t monitor.

Neither Islam nor terrorism is really a threat to free speech, as much as those with actual power would like to persuade us.

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I went to Gamescom and all I got was this Sony fedora

Alex Hort-Francis writes about his time at Gamescom 2014, during which he got to eat a proper German sausage. 

Gamescom should probably be called ‘Sittingonthefloorcom’. That’s not really a criticism, but turn up expecting to be entertained every minute of the convention and you’ll probably leave disappointed. An hour into a queue to play the next Assassin’s Creed makes you realise the man in front of you with a collapsible camping chair and a kindle is probably the most sensible person ever birthed from a womb. 

Admittedly I don’t have much experience with conventions, so I wasn’t sure what to expect in my adventure to Cologne. Gamescom is the second biggest games convention in the world, with an absurd 335,000 people all jostling to play the latest games months before their release. A startling majority of said 335,000 were young men, which surprised me: they’re actually not as big a demographic amongst people that play video games as you might think. I’d like to believe the branded fedoras Sony and Square Enix were giving out were designed as some kind of razor-sharp ironic statement on the perception of said demographics. 

Gamescom is mainly geared towards showing off the big blockbuster titles, with a smattering of smaller ‘indie’ projects thrown in. League of Legends, for example, has almost one whole of the 11 mammoth halls to itself, with enthusiasts from across the world gathering to play against each other in the flesh. Fans proudly strut through the halls in costume, going to admirable lengths to recreate their favourite characters from video games old and new. It’s humbling to see so many people with such excitement over a shared pastime. Sitting in the queue for what turned out to be a posh trailer for Tom Clancy’s The Division, I found myself effortlessly nattering away with another visitor who had travelled all the way from the US, about how Black Flag should have dropped all of that assassin nonsense and just been a game about being a pirate.

The game I was probably most excited about having a razz on while in Cologne was Alien: Isolation. Inspired by the first film in the Alien franchise - rather than its more action-packed sequel, Aliens, as most spin-off games are - means there’s only one monster stalking you, but you have no way to kill it. From my meagre twenty-minute session I reckon it’s got a good potential for brick-shitting, although that all hinges on how much you see the alien. In the film you only get a full frontal of it at the end, and your imagination is invariably spookier than a lanky man in a rubber costume. In my playthrough the alien ended up bumbling around a bit, and the ‘oh shit it’s right there’ novelty did start to wear off. Hopefully the game proper will give the Alien a bigger area to roam about, meaning encounters are sparse but intense occasions. 

The Evil Within was another on my list. Also a horror game, its popularity was confirmed by a three-hour queue time (a good chance for a nap away from my hostel roommate’s impressive sleep apnoea). Whereas most horror games these days go down a more forgiving, action-oriented route to appeal to a wider audience, The Evil Within is supposedly a return to the old-school spookiness of ‘survival horror’ games of yore; so says the game’s director and the creator of the whole Resident Evil franchise, Shinji Mikami. The Evil Within certainly feels the part, with the Gamescom demo throwing players into a haunted house with various grizzly puzzles to solve. Marrying ruthless survival horror and over-the-shoulder gunplay together made me wistful for Resident Evil 4, and I really wanted to like it, but certain game design choices worry me; the game has the potential to forfeit scariness from player frustration. Taking cues from The Last of Us’ stealthy mechanics - there are now lots of glass bottles lying around that make a loud smash when you throw them - makes taking the not-zombies head on foolhardy, encouraging strategy and conservation of ammo: even a lone enemy can be enough to finish you off if you bollocks-up an encounter. But awkward camera positioning and elaborate animations when, for instance, entering a room may make intentional clunkiness overbearing. It’s certainly one I’m looking forward to seeing more of when it comes out in October, at any rate. 

The indie section of the convention was unsurprisingly much less busy, featuring an arguably more diverse range of games. Chatting to the developers themselves, rather than some attractive people hired to man a stall for a day, makes it a more rewarding area to wander through. Of the many games on display, my favourites included Rive, a 2D shooter-platformer with snappy controls providing some solid arcade-y fun, and surrealist puzzler Back to Bed, which sees you guide a sleepwalker through an Escher-esque environment. An exhausted-looking developer gave me approving nods as I cracked each cheese-dream-inspired level, so I must have been doing well. A short distance away were stalls from games design university courses. German ‘rollerskate-em-up’ student game Neon Lines had me manically giggling as I whizzed around a warehouse smacking men with guns in the face with a golf club. I defy anyone else alive not to crack a smile while playing such slapstick gold. 

Spotting the Oculus Rift stall on the first day, I promised myself I’d make time to go back and give it a go before the week was up. The Rift is, after all, a piece of tech I wouldn’t easily be able to muck about with outside of an event like this. For those unfamiliar with it, the head-mounted display is the latest in virtual reality technology, allowing players to peer around inside a digital world in real time. I was particularly excited to see a Rift-enabled version of SUPERHOT, a first-person shooter in which time only progresses while the player moves around. I’d already played a browser-based version, but adding the Rift to the mix adds an extra layer of skill and strategy. Darting your head to the side to dodge an impending bullet and watching it woosh past you is super good fun. I probably looked like a complete loon jerking my head around in the middle of Gamescom, but I was having a bloody good time in my own special Matrix world. 

As the final day of the convention came to a close and the thousands-strong army of attendees marched back towards the city of Cologne (a city seemingly devoid of any actual German restaurants, as we quickly discovered) I felt more excited for the medium of digital games than I have done in a while. It’s easy to point out that, playable demos aside, most of the content you’re queuing up to see is available online, but it feels a bit like telling a football season ticket holder that they’d get a better view if they watched all the matches at home on the telly. Although I spent considerably more time waiting to play games than actually playing them, there’s an ineffable excitement in the air you can’t help feel invigorated by. My time in Cologne has certainly wetted my appetite for future conventions. 

I’ll probably bring a comfy chair and a book next time, though. 

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Maisie Tuckett

'9 Reasons To Take Drugs': a brilliant animation by Maisie Tuckett. 

9 Reasons To Take Drugs: Original storyboard still

9 Reasons To Take Drugs: Visual development board

Maisie has just graduated from her final year of BA Animation. Her final animation, '9 Reasons To Take Drugs', is a series of satirical vignettes on the perils of drug taking. She works predominantly in 2D animation, creating both experimental and commercial short films.

To check out the full animation, go to: www.vimeo.com/96104919

For more of Maisie's work: http://cargocollective.com/maisietuckett

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Frances Clark

Beautiful studies of the human form by Frances Clark.

‘Self-study, Combined’ Pencil and ink on canvas paper 16.5 x 23.4”, 2014

I’m beginning my second year at Norwich University of the Arts in BA Fine Art. My preferred subjects are people, aspects of the personality, the human body and social concerns, which I explore mainly through drawing in pencil and inks. My drawings are more traditional yet can often go off in tangents of experimentation.

'Trap Set' Pencil, fine liner pen and graphic marker pen on cartridge paper 5.8 x 8.3”, 2013

To get in touch with Frances, email her at: frances.clark@hotmail.co.uk

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Jake Mann

Incredible concept artwork by first year student, Jake Mann. 

Castle Sketch

I am an aspiring concept artist and illustrator. I aim to work with the entrainment industry.

Soul Fortress

The concept was based on a mystical fortress of lost souls.

To contact Jake about his work, email him at: JakeDJMann@hotmail.com

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Sara Harrington

A wonderful and 'bee-friendly' DIY publication by Sara Harrington, for her final 3rd year project. 

My work aims to re-evaluate our engagement with design through my 'Bee Friendly' and plantable paper projects, which endeavours to inform and re-purpose contemporary design to be less wasteful and a force for positive, pro-active change.

The final book I've created is completely plantable and gives the after life of the book new purpose, as it is designed to attract bees whilst also informing the reader further about the importance of them and the struggles we're having with their population numbers.

To check out more of Sara's work: www.saraharrington.co.uk

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Jacqui Amy

A series of engaging portraits by Jacqui Amy, addressing the way we characterise lesbian women. 

'Introducing the Femme' is a portrait series highlighting femme lesbians. Femme lesbians often find that people assume that they are straight which leads to them having to come out on a daily basis. This can be as simple as small talk with a sales assistant where they assume you have a boyfriend or checking into a hotel room and being offered two single beds. For the more stereotypical butch lesbian, people suspect they are gay, which leads to less socially awkward situations. This project aims to show the diversity of lesbians.

For more work and contact details: www.jacquiamy.com

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Christian Harrop

Beautifully strange illustrations by Christian Harrop, delving into the restlessness of sleep. 

This work stemmed from exploring the restlessness of sleepers and insomniacs, mapping the erratic patterns of movement contained within the confined space in which we choose to spend our nights.

I wanted to elaborate on how uncomfortable and imprisoning a place of rest can be when it’s main function becomes useless.

My work tends to vary between printmaking, animation and performance. I love dramatic line-work and finding new ways to express drawn imagery.

Mediums: Drypoint prints, Digital work & Prints on pillows w/ embroidery.

To experience more of Chris' work, visit his tumblr: www.christianharrop.tumblr.com

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Lucia Vettese

Colourful watercolours by illustration student, Lucia Vettese. 

For these two illustrations I was inspired by the artist Agnes Cecile, as she uses watercolours so fluently. I love nature, especially birds, and by using watercolours I have the freedom to create bright, vibrant colour. I then go into more detail using a black fine liner to highlight the bird's eyes and feathers.

My work in general evolves around sketching and painting, mainly using watercolours to create my illustrations, but I also love to experiment with other types of media and techniques especially when set various projects at university.

To get in touch with Lucia, email her at lucia@lvstudios.com

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Karim Skalli

Mesmerising photographs by Karim Skalli, who constructs his own film stills and explores the creation of isolation.

Solitude: Karim Skalli

Solitude: Karim Skalli

This is a project about isolation in film and how horror/thriller films use conventions to foreshadow forthcoming events.

In the Woods: Karim Skalli

In the Woods: Karim Skalli

The second project is a self portrait project inspired by film director Wes Anderson and provides a linear narrative into a business-like character who finds himself lost in the woods. It is also part of my BA3 brief in which I chose to create film stills.

To see Karim's full projects:

https://www.behance.net/gallery/15253671/Solitude https://www.behance.net/gallery/15673797/In-The-Woods

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Halima Haruna

Three architectural drawings by first year student, Halima Haruna.

Halima: My work is propelled mainly by taking ephemeral experiences and intangible feelings/aspects of life and finding 3D equivalents that may house these. I use several media to evoke the emotion and environment I'm trying to portray in my designs.

Above: Studies of interior lighting of a design proposal done in charcoal (Term 2)

A Line Forgery of the Floor Plan of Pierre Chareau's Maison de Verre: Term 1

A Drawing Showing The Degradation of a Proposal Over A Period of Time

Find Halima on Twitter: @h_haruna848

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Paige Mitchell

Green Teapot, carbon paper transfer with acrylic ink detail.

Black Teapot, drypoint etching with coloured drawing ink detail.

Aloe Vera, pastel coloured digital illustration.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/PaigeMitchellDesign

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Issue 2 online

Storehouse Issue 2 is now available to view online.

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Sara Gill

A documentation of the Norfolk coast through a personal perspective.

www.saragill.co.uk

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Antony Stephenson

Wes Anderson inspired geometric fine liner portraits.

I chose Wes Anderson as he is my favourite film director and after watching his films numerous times I thought I would draw his work.

antonybrett@msn.com

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Issue 1 online

The very first issue of Storehouse is now available to view online.